Sign in

Please complete all fields in the form to login.
Username and password fields are case sensitive

If you have forgotten your username or password please use
the forgotten your username/password link below.

Remember me, by ticking the box you
are confirming you are happy for your details to be remembered
and used the next time you use this computer to visit
eFinancialNews.com. By doing this, you'll be able to access
restricted content without logging in each time you
visit the site.

Lodi to submit â‚¬4bn cash offer for Antonveneta

Banca Popolare di Lodi on Wednesday said it would submit a cash offer for Banca Antonveneta to Italian regulators as demanded by a ruling this week that it had breached market rules.

Lodi, which is competing against ABN Amro of the Netherlands for Antonveneta, is appealing against the ruling from Consob, the markets regulator. It is preparing the new bid of about â‚¬4bn ($5bn) without having financing in place in what is viewed as a test case for Italy's reluctance to allow foreign takeovers in its financial sector.

Lodi and its advisers are searching for the cash to support its offer. The bank, whose market capitalisation is just â‚¬2.4bn, does not need financial guarantees in place until Consob rules on the validity of its offer in about three weeks' time.

This comes a day after Italian prosecutors placed Lodi Chief Executive Gianpiero Fiorani under investigation in connection with the bank's acquisition of its stake in Antonveneta, according to two people familiar with the probe.

Prosecutors in Milan are investigating whether Lodi's acquisition violated securities and insider-trading laws and obstructed Consob's activities. In addition to Fiorani, they have placed Italian financier Emilio Gnutti and 20 others under investigation, the people familiar with the probe said.